This patient went for “thermolysis” treatment (and Apilus) for 18 months and only had his upper shoulders worked on: 100 hours, and no more than 30% clearance. Of most interest to me was the “pebbling” that presented from the 30 thermolysis “clearances.” As I said, repeated “gentle” treatment results in more visible damage than a good “first time kill.”

The patient was seen 3 months ago (treatment started May 17), and had his shoulders and entire back cleared in 54 hours. This photos shows the patient today after his second clearance that took 27 hours (exactly half the time of the first). His final clearing will be no more than 12 hours (I expect about 8 hours actually).

This photos can be copied and examined close-up to reveal the type of scabs that I WANT to form with such body work (I used the “sharpen filter” to really show the scabs clearly). I used manual blend with a tapered (non-insulated) needle. I do not use insulated needles for body work because I want to ensure the destruction of the entire follicle and, most importantly, the stem cells.

Such a case, even though a “big one” is completely predictable. The client has a full guarantee of lifetime permanent hair removal. The client is guaranteed no visible marks of any kind. The client might be willing to discuss his experience, but that’s up to him. Electrolysis WORKS!

I'm curious as to what that bald area is in the lower part of the back? It seems to stand out among all the red, but I assume that the red will go away and it will all be perfectly clear. Also, it's a little hard to tell from the photo, but how is the "feathering" going into his upper arm?

Hi Mike. What machine do you like to use for blend?Apilus is wonderful for thermolysis however for blend, it is tooconstraining as it forces the sequencing for me as it has only one pedal.I have used Fischer and Gentronics for blend as they have separate pedalsand I prefer that. Would you tell us more about how you administer your blend?

Blend is 2-foot switches. Always with 2-handed/progressive. I don't stop to remove the hairs because of the 2-hand method. Use a 2-year-old Hinkel Classic. High HF and DC, hairs epilate in less than 2 seconds (1-2 seconds). Full manual: I do not want any type of timer to decide for me when the hair is treated.

Michael thank you again for making such posts. It just brings delight and constant renewed hope in what electrology is capable of but sadly not often experienced these days. I hope to see more illustrations from you.:) That red reaction looks very similar to laser treatments, wouldn't call it scabbing. And I had REAL brown scabs from electrolysis but nothing near the kill rate in the amount of time you describe. I'm curious to hear what that patient has to say about treatment sensation between Apilus thermolysis and your blend.

That's interesting that you use the foot pedals. When I was treated with blend by my "95 out of 100 hairs won't come back" lady she didn't use foot pedals and her technique was definitely progressive epilation. Just recently I was wondering how she did it because although the dial was set to automatic she absolutely had full control over the machine. Yet there was never a foot pedal to be seen!

When no foot pedals are used, the electrologist is working in automatic mode where each hair is assumed to require the same setting. For those hairs that do not release easily, the electrologist usually reinserts.

Those who say that foot pedals are for beginners - perhaps have not developed an appreciation or understanding of the 2 handed blend technique.

Michael, I haven't used a Hinkel machine and would love to try a 2 second blend. I don't think anyone here on the eastcoast is doing a 2 second blend.

I would love to explore your technique for very fast blend. My Gentronics has 2 separate pedals and I will explore fast blend.

Thanks for all your kind comments. This is (actually) the first time I have talked about the machine I use, and those other “specifics.” I’m taking Dee’s “recommendation” that we should talk about these things … I have always avoided such specifics because I sincerely believe it really does NOT matter. Years ago I used my Proteus machine (HF only) and got the exact same results using thermolysis only. Jossie uses her technique and our results are identical. Fino used his Instantron, and our TTT results were actually funny … exact to the hour!

The point I was trying to make is the idea of killing-off the follicle the first time. This patient’s two former electrologists worked on him twice per week (soft treatment) for almost a year and a half (he spend $10,000), and the goal was to weaken the hair and finally kill it. (The kill rate was poor.) The patient said he had very little skin reaction after the treatment (and no scabs at all). Yes, indeed you should almost never see scabs on the face … but, in my opinion, ALWAYS on a very heavy body case such as this.

This patient now has classic “pebbling” (small raised tiny scars) on the shoulders that were repeatedly treated: over-and-over with “soft” treatment. Remember, even repeated tweezing builds up scar tissue … so imagine repeated treatment! Of course his “pebbling” is not very noticeable (only with close observation) and he will be just fine. The areas that were “blasted out” by me, a few months ago, have no marks of any kind.

The point: constant wounding builds up scar tissue. This is fascinating, because just the opposite seems true. It’s all about how the dermis heals. Same thing in plastic surgery: ONE face-lift looks natural. However, with repeated surgery, the collagen layer (under the dissected skin) builds up, and the face gets a very unnatural “tight” look … even though no actual scars are seen. (All of this thinking is from my cooperating plastic surgeon; by the way … I’m a good listener).

The plastic surgery patients that look fantastic are the ones that had “the whole works” surgery. Right after surgery they looked like hell … but healed perfectly. The women that continue to do “little safe” procedures … eventually start to look “odd” as the wounding begins to give the dermis an unnatural look.

“ … lady she didn't use foot pedals and her technique was definitely progressive epilation. Just recently I was wondering how she did it because although the dial was set to automatic she absolutely had full control over the machine. Yet there was never a foot pedal to be seen!”

She might have been using two-hands … but she was not doing “progressive epilation.” And, you do not have instantaneous control over the HF unless you are controlling it with a foot pedal. This is very simple (not rocket science, as they used to say.)

I didn't know a two second blend was possible for 20 unit or more hairs. I learned that it is the alternating current that really treats the hair and the little bit of direct current is only good for keeping the probe clean ( meaning keeping the probe from sticky buildup).

The bald patch on the lower back - was that area already treated or was there just never any hair there?

Hard work indeed on a man's back. Great work, Mike, and yes, clients should expect this kind of skin reaction. It's okay! Yes, electrolysis does work for any area. I wish more electrologists would / could believe that they too can do large areas like this. Clients need to know that this is not easy and they will to invest many hours up front to clear off the yeti beast hairs. They will be happy in the end for all the sacrifices they make up front.

Hi Dee. I too am wondering about the 2 second blend. I wonder what the galvanic setting is and if it is leading and continuing to the end of the 2 seconds.

I knew an old timer who has been retired for 10 years now and she did a fast blend too. I just assumed that she was doing thermolysis but I liked her work no matter what she called it. She did say it was blend.

Nevertheless, there is theory and practice and the texts indicate that we need more time in the follicle for the sodium hydroxide to be produced.

Yes, can you imagine a guy who wrote a book called “the Blend Method,” not actually following the “rules?” And, I don’t!

It’s like this: When you learn a language, you carefully follow (and think about) the grammar rules before you speak. Once you know the language, you just speak and never think about the rules … it’s just “natural.” I think this is the same with electrolysis. Eventually the machine you are using (any of them) becomes an extension of you! You control the thing and the machine is just your instrument. As has been said many times: electrologists remove hairs; not machines.

Funny thing about grammar, it was “invented” to explain how people actually speak … the grammar did not come first. Same with the “blend rules.” these only were developed to describe what people were doing in the first place. The old-timer blenders didn’t even use a meter … it was all about how the skin looked. (Hinkel put a meter on the machine to understand what the electrologists were already doing … and then he developed his “blend grammar.” (I never think about units of lye and never do any computations … even!)

Actually, most of my “fast blend” hairs epilate in about a second. The DC is set at a constant 15/tenths (1.5mA) and is left on all the time (called by a New Zealand writer Neil Blok, “live probing” … nice name for it.) The HF is near maximum output but very carefully controlled manually. I don’t know if the DC really does much at all (probably not much). Still, with the results I’m getting, I don’t care a whole lot about exactly which current is doing what. (Someone argued that I'm really only doing thermolysis ... and my answer was "so, what's wrong with that?")

This is more or less what You describe in Your first book as the body technique, just put to utmost consequence, isn't it?

Quote:

I don’t know if the DC really does much at all (probably not much).

Even at 1 mA its effect is still noticeable but, admittedly, small, and if there is plenty of humidity You see the lye developing. The hairs did not epilate anymore if the DC connection had been interrupted (accidentally..)

BTW: In my attempt to transfer this approach to the Apilus boxes and trying to work around the limitiations in its blend blend modalities i ended up in pulsed blend mode (picoblend on the platinum) with only small gaps between the HF pulses and leading DC onset. Of course pedal controlled and more or less progressive.

(First off, the photo was before he started with me … and, yes, I will post his photo in about 5 months or so.) I’m nearly certain he will not require an actual “3rd Clearance,” but just a bit of “pick-up” here and there. And, this is usually the case in a young man where hairs are not staying in exogen for any time at all. Consequently, the thick/dense hair growth is much easier to control and the outcome very predictable … this is counterintuitive.

Of course, it took him over a year to see what was happening (and a ton of money). However, he correctly reckoned that the back would not do well with laser: it was a mass of FINE but dark and noticeable hairs (a real horror story to work on). He wants his chest and stomach only thinned … the hairs are very coarse, so he is “going laser.” He had me, however, define the chest patterns so that it will have a well-defined shape.

This guy is very smart and after doing his “homework” is going to get exactly what he wants. It has been a real joy working with this kid. And now, I’m going to Disneyland — two times on “Pirates of the Caribbean!”